


Thinking of Stars

by 5INGME



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Fic, Bassist Chan, Bickering, Comedy, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Lead Guitarist Woojin, Lead vocalist Minho, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rhythm Guitarist Felix, Tags May Change, drummer changbin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2020-11-15 11:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20865671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5INGME/pseuds/5INGME
Summary: “So, how can we be different, huh?” Chan poses the question openly to his four friends.Minho, Felix, and Changbin look up at him blankly.“We need to pick a good name for the band, something that distinguishes us from all the other wanna-be college bands,” Woojin explains to the others.---///---The story of five college guys who form a garage band and try to make it big.





	1. In which the band chooses a name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys brainstorm names for the band, some good, some bad, some rather questionable.

“So, how _can_ we be different, huh?” Chan poses the question openly to his boyfriend and three friends, interrupting the idle chatter of the group. They’re sitting cramped together, taking up all the space on the old, faded daisy-patterned sofa in Woojin’s garage. Chan paces in the empty area behind the sofa.

The group of friends cease their conversation and turn to face Chan. Minho, Felix, and Changbin look up at him blankly.

“What do you mean?” Minho asks. Chan often has his mind elsewhere, thinking of something else, leaving the others grasping to understand his sporadic jumps in their conversations.

Woojin makes eye contact with Chan. “We need to pick a good name for the band, something that distinguishes us from all the other wanna-be college bands,” Woojin explains to the others, perfectly understanding his boyfriend’s wavelength. Woojin knows Chan spends a lot of time caring for the group and thinking of what’s best for them. As the eldest in the group, Woojin does the same, but to a lesser extent given that he’s providing them all with a practice space.

Changbin surmises, “Ah, so that way we can _actually_ get gigs.” The group of friends have always been musically-inclined, but now that the youngest of them, Felix, has started post-secondary education as well, the financial pressures are leading them to be rather entrepreneurial this summer and turn their hobby into something financially beneficial. They’ve been playing as a band for several weeks already, but aren’t able to secure any bookings—not at any bars, pubs, cafes or restaurants in the neighbourhoods around campus.

“Anyone have any suggestions, then?” Felix asks curiously.

Chan makes his way to the front of the sofa, making a quick detour to bring over the stool from Changbin’s drum kit. He plops himself down in front of his friends. Silence falls over the group as they wrack their brains for any combination of words to form a name. Minutes tick by. A beat-up pickup truck drives down the street of Woojin’s neighbourhood; it’s otherwise quiet.

Minho breaks the silence, “Okay, this is _clearly_ not going to work . We’re too sober for this!” He shoots to his feet and makes his way over to the mini refrigerator in the back corner of the garage. He starts rummaging inside.

“Felix is only nineteen, Minho! We may be a rock band, but under _no circumstances_ am I going to allow underage drinking!” Woojin chastises him.

“You think I don’t know that? Of course I know!” Minho laughs as he turns around, having found whatever it is that he was looking for. Precariously stacked in his hands are a various assortment of pies, cakes, cookies and brownies. “What we need for brainstorming is a sugar rush.”

“It’ll lower our inhibitions _and_ raise our creativity!” Changbin exclaims with a mischievous grin. He always thrives in the potential for chaos.

Felix simply rejoices on the basis of getting to indulge his (in)famous sweet tooth.

Woojin relents. He rises from the couch and heads through the door connecting the garage to the rest of the house, going directly to the kitchen to grab plates and cutlery. He returns to see the rest of the boys thrumming in excitement.

Chan pops open the plastic lids of the various desserts and starts portioning and serving them to the boys. They all dig in to the desserts heartily, as if they hadn’t eaten anything all day. (They had literally _just_ finished eating eight large bowls of ramen as a group before they met up in the garage!)

“Okay. So. Band names,” Changbin mumbles around a mouthful of deluxe double chocolate cake. “Let’s go.”

Woojin forsakes a plate of goodies for a notebook and pen. He figures he’ll be the responsible one (as always—not that he minds) and write down their ideas.

“How about _Good_ or _That Good_?” Felix proposes. “That way when we introduce ourselves, people will know that we’re a really skilled band!” He takes another bite of strawberry shortcake.

Chan smiles and ruffles Felix’s mop of hair, “Nice idea, Lixie! That’s really clever.” He’s always had a soft spot for the younger Australian boy. For years Chan was the only Aussie at his school, at least until Felix had arrived as a transfer student four years ago. They had bonded quickly, especially with their shared interest in music. Chan taught Felix guitar, and then he himself switched to bass so they could play together.

Minho is the next to suggest a name, “_Bob Ross_. He’s my favourite painter.” Woojin can’t resist the urge to roll his eyes when Minho recites, “_We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents_. I think that’s my favourite quote. Either that or _Let’s get Crazy_, which could also work as a band name.”

“_Let’s Get Crazy_ is pretty good, it doesn’t follow the typical name structure for bands,” Chan notes.

Changbin hums. “_Bob Ross_… interesting. Perhaps we could change it up by switching the first letters and go with _Rob Boss_!” His eyes sparkle.

“Do you hear yourself, dummy?” Minho scoffs. “It sounds like we’re gonna steal from our employers. That’s the perfect way to ensure that we never get hired!” He’s very pragmatic, but often a bit too blunt with his delivery.

Changbin pouts and Felix consoles him, “Switching letters is a cool idea, Changbin, but Minho’s right. In this case, it has another meaning that we really should avoid.”

“Oh true.” That’s all Changbin can say, brushing off the comment and going right back to happily eating his desserts.

After a brief silence, Chan states, “I want doughnuts.”

“As a name? Or to eat?” Minho jokes. He is type of friend who jokes around, but actually really cares deep down.

“To eat…” he trails off, stuffing a bite of mocha caramel brownie in his mouth.

Felix interjects, “Okay wait! The doughnuts, we could make it into a name! But more recognizable: _Duncan and the Donuts_!”

“Wouldn’t that be infringing on copyright?” Chan asks. “Also, none of us are named Duncan. Wouldn’t that be a bit confusing to the listeners? I mean, one of us could change our names to Duncan, but it would only make sense if that was Minho since he’s our vocalist. But then does that make us his backup musicians? We’re more than that, though… Or does it make us donuts? I’m hungry.” he rambles.

“Christopher,” Woojin face palms at his boyfriend’s antics. He wants the group to get back on track.

“Ooh forget _Duncan_ _and the Donuts_, I like that instead!” Minho says. “It’s could work. It’s alluring because it carries that confusion since we’re a group going by a singular person’s name. _Christopher_,” he repeats dramatically with a swoop of his hand.

“Christopher… Chris… Christmas…” Felix pauses. Then he beams, “_Christmas in July_!”

“But Christmas as a holiday is so commercialized these days, do we really want to associate ourselves with something that’s all about spending money?” Chan wonders.

Felix says, “That reminds me, if any of you don’t know what to buy me for Christmas this year, I could use some new guitar strings.”

“Guitar strings? Boy you’d better be glad you’re the baby of the group, because those are _crazy_ expensive these days,” Minho says. “Yeah, I’ll get you some.”

“_The Price of Guitar Strings_ could be an interesting name,” Chan suggests.

“I have an extra pack of strings, if you need any before then, Lixie,” Woojin offers. “You can usually get them pretty easily on Craigslist.”

“Ooh, thanks, Woojin!”

“_Craig and His List_,” Chan laughs to himself. “Oh but then we’d have the same problem as _Duncan and the Donuts_. Minho, how do you feel about changing your name?”

“Hell no!”

Changbin smacks his hands on his knees and bolts upright. “I got one!” he shouts. “_The Lube_! Because our music is gonna flow into your ears so smoothly. Also cuz our van really needs an oil change,” he added as an afterthought.

Woojin selectively notes down the part about Chan’s van. The van needs a whole service check, which will reveal several other things that need fixing—more expenses that their earnings will go towards. He sighs.

Chan takes Woojin’s sigh as a cue to wrap up the shenanigans. “Okay none of these names have jumped out at us as perfect. But I think we should pick one for the meantime and just see how it fits,” Chan decides. “Let’s vote.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my first attempt at writing a chaptered fic, i'm pretty excited to see how it goes
> 
> a huge thank you to Emi for being super hyped about this fic, and ultimately convincing me to write it in the first place  
another huge thank you to Jo for helping me to develop ideas by ranting to her, and for giving awesome suggestions for band names


	2. In which the band explores graphic design

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The votes are in, the boys have picked the name for the band. They get artsy and make posters.

Chan sits on the floor, with Changbin’s drum stool in front of him as a table. He stares at the five folded slips of paper on the seat. They’ve casted their votes. It’s time to see what their band’s name will be.

Chan opens the first, announcing it aloud. “One vote for _Christopher_.”

Minho raises an eyebrow.

“One vote for _Duncan and the Donuts_.”

“You guys really want me to change my name, huh?” Minho mutters. Changbin snickers.

The other three votes are unanimous.

“_The Lube_… _The Lube_… and _The Lube_,” Chan states numbly.

Changbin jumps up and pumps his fist, “YES!” The sound echoes in Woojin’s small garage.

Woojin can’t believe it. “Did we really pick _The Lube_ as our name?!” he asks incredulously.

Felix shrugs. “Majority rules.”

A smile grows on Minho’s face, eyes gleaming with mirth.

“You’re way too happy about this.” Woojin narrows his eyes at Minho. “Wait, I voted for _Duncan and the Donuts_. Who voted for _Christopher_?”

“I did,” Chan says, sheepishly. The other four stare at him, judgmentally. “Oh come on, I don’t have a big ego, I just thought it was funny!”

That means Felix, Minho and Changbin all voted for _The Lube_. Woojin shakes his head, “I expected better taste from you, Minho. You perv,” Woojin jokes.

“Oh come _on_…” Minho whines. “The whole point was to pick a name that’s unique and gonna get us noticed! _The Lube_ makes sense on that basis,” he explains in defense.

“Hold on, so Changbin you voted for your own suggestion?” Chan asks, finally connecting the dots.

“It’s not like we made a rule against it. Besides, I voted for what I liked and I wouldn’t have suggested something if I didn’t like it.” Changbin is firm in his defense.

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Chan acquiesces.

“Is anyone gonna ask why I voted for _The Lube_?” Felix asks, tensing up beside Woojin. “Because I—”

“No, Lixie, we have no problems with whatever you vote for,” Woojin placates him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Felix sighs in relief and smiles.

Changbin splutters. “Blatant favouritism!” he shouts.

“Damn, that could’ve been a good name too,” Chan mutters under his breath.

The entire group dissolves in laughter.

\---///---

The rest of the meeting sees the five boys drafting up sketches for flyers and posters to advertise the band. Woojin has a proper sketchbook. Chan draws in his lyric-writing notebook. Changbin doodles on the back of his math worksheets from last year. Felix pulls out his laptop and opens his drawing software program. Minho uses up an entire stack of sticky-notes.

Unlike the start of their name brainstorming session, this time their creativity flows easily.

By the end of the night they are all satisfied with what they’ve achieved. But ultimately it’s Felix whose designs turn out best.

“Wow did you design that font yourself, Felix?”Changbin asks. “It’s really cool!”

“Thanks! Graphic design is my passion,” he says with a cheeky smirk, his face illuminated by the light of his laptop.

“All joking aside, Felix, these designs are really good!” Woojin fawned over him.

“Yeah,” Chan agreed. “They’re so good that we should use them on our Instagram and Twitter. Right away. The world needs to see them _right away_!”

“If you send me the digital versions, I can get the flyers and posters printed at the store tomorrow,” Minho offered. “That way we can start our search for gigs much more legitimately. How many copies of each should we print?”

“Maybe a hundred posters?” Felix estimates. “They’re letter-sized so we can easily put them up anywhere on campus.”

“Make it two hundred, there’s not much a difference in cost between the first and second hundred pages,” Changbin explains.

Minho nods. “Okay, and how many flyers, then?”

“One hundred should probably be more than enough,” Woojin decides.

“Alright. So I’ll get them printed first thing tomorrow, and we’ll meet at Changbin’s apartment at ten-thirty so we have the full day to put up the posters and scout for gigs.”

“Good idea, it’ll take a while to do that, so the earlier the better.”

“Sounds good.” Chan says. Felix simply nods in agreement.

“Wait… _MY_ apartment? Shouldn’t I get a say in this?” Changbin is panicked. “My place is a mess! I haven’t cleaned it since summer break started! I need to clean!”

“Well you have all night to get it done then,” Minho laughs.

“But… but…” Changbin splutters.

Minho wraps an arm around the drummer’s shoulders. “All joking aside, Binnie, we really don’t mind a bit of a mess. It’s not like we haven’t seen it before.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Changbin sighs in defeat. He’ll tidy up what he can, but decides he won’t lose any sleep over cleaning his whole apartment the way he usually does before his friends come over.

“Well, see you guys tomorrow at ten-thirty,” Chan says. “Felix, do you need a ride home, bro?”

“Sure, Chan, thanks!”

“Drive safe, Channie,” Woojin says, pecking a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips.

“I’ll be back soon, Wooj.” Chan grabs his keys and Felix swings his guitar over his shoulder and they head out first, followed by Minho and Changbin, leaving Woojin to clean up all their dirty dishes.

\---///---

Minho is the last to arrive at Changbin’s apartment the next morning, stack of prints in hand. He smiles to himself as he notices that Changbin had indeed tidied up between last night and the boys arriving. He shakes his head, remembering what he is about to tell the rest of the band.

“Guys, we have a problem,” he announces as he enters the kitchen, where the others are seated at the island.

“Wait…” Changbin ignores Minho’s statement. “None of us let you in. Do _all_ of you know my passcode? I know I told Woojin because he’s the responsible one. I don’t remember if I told Chan or not, but I _know_ I didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah you told me, Bin, the first time you got drunk. We were at my place, but I had to get you home. You were too drunk to punch in the code properly,” Chan explains.

“Oh.” Changbin’s ears burn in embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, I don’t know your passcode,” Felix rubs Changbin’s back.

“Well _I_ do,” Minho proudly proclaims. “I managed to guess it on my third try.”

Changbin gapes at him. “You _guessed_ it?”

Minho shrugs, “You shouldn’t be so predictable, Changbin. Using your birthday?” He laughs. “It was just a matter of time until someone guessed it and got in. You should be glad it was me and not some rando.”

“But a rando wouldn’t know Changbin’s birthday,” Chan counters.

“Hm. I suppose that’s true.” Minho acquiesces. “But our fans would know, and that’s not safe. Any of them could be stalkers.”

“What fans? We don’t have any,” Woojin laughs. “But we _won’t_ have any if we don’t get any gigs. So let’s get down to business and put up these posters.” He successfully redirects the group back to focusing on the matter at hand.

“Oh yeah! Minho, you said there was a problem?” Felix asks, voice full of concern.

“I got all the prints from the shop and—well, let’s just say we’re not called _The Lube_ anymore.”

“_WHAT_?” Three voices ring out Changbin’s small kitchen. Felix is silent.

“What do you mean, Minho?” Chan asks. “Was there a misprint?”

“Not exactly.”

“Oh,” Felix goes pale, freckles gaining prominence on his face. “Oh no…”

The four older guys turn to look at Felix with a mix of confusion (Chan), worry (Woojin), concern (Changbin), and pity (Minho).

“I’m so sorry guys. It was an accident, I _swear_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, i'm so sorry for the long break between chapters. i had this half written when my course work started piling up and then woojin left, and i found that i just needed to take a break. i will always support both woojin and skz (as 8). i will continue to write this fic with woojin in it. my future fics will still include woojin (unless it's a canon au). i have the entirety of this fic planned out, so i WILL finish it, but it may just take a while. but i will do it.
> 
> on another note, i am working in some ships into this fic. woochan is established and i have another ship planned. i have a couple ideas, but i haven't decided on which one(s), so if you have any suggestions based on what i've written so far, drop a comment, or let me know on twitter (@hugchans). the other 4 members of stray kids WILL be appearing in this fic, so you can consider them as well!
> 
> until next update ♥


	3. (not a chapter)

I do have plans to continue this fic. I had a chapter nearly ready to post. 

Now, I am going to be editing this fic to remove all traces of Woojin. I will be doing the same with my other completed fics. I no longer support him and will not include him in my works. 

Please be patient with me. Thank you.  
Stay safe ♥


End file.
